Join Us

Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Audio

Join Us

Chelsea Body – Foley Mixer & Editor

 

Chelsea Body is a freelance Foley Mixer and Editor, working primarily with Footsteps Foley and Formosa Group (Toronto). Chelsea has been working in Foley for seven years and became a freelance engineer five years ago. Currently, she can be found working among the Foley teams on critically acclaimed productions such as ‘Dune (2021)’, ‘Women Talking (2022)’, and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale (2018)’.

Chelsea grew up taking classical piano lessons from age 10 and worked her way through the Royal Conservatory rudiments to a Grade 10 level. She now considers the bass as her main instrument, which she enjoys. She loved listening to music and going to concerts as a teenager and always admired the tech crew at live shows and thought that would be a really fun job. She attended Mohawk College and Fanshawe College, both in Ontario, Canada, and graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Applied Music from Mohawk College (2012), Diploma in Music Industry Arts from Fanshawe College (2014), and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Audio Post Production from Fanshawe (2015).

 

Career Start

How did you get your start?

At the end of college, I was offered a contract at Urban Post in Toronto doing Closed Captioning work. While it wasn’t specifically in my field, it was my first foot in the door and I took that opportunity to connect with the staff there and show my interest in audio. After a few months, they were looking for a new Foley recordist and they thought of me for the job. It was a night gig and a position I didn’t have much experience in but I jumped at it. I had such wonderful, supportive mentors there and I learned so much from everyone. After about two years, the time came for me to explore other studios and network with the broader Toronto community, and from there I went freelance as a Foley mixer and editor.

What did you learn interning, or on your early gigs?

I especially enjoyed my time working in a post house as I was able to jump between roles and projects. If Foley wasn’t busy, I would be editing a reality tv show or was able to take the time and sit in with a re-recording mixer, or an ADR session. Being in that environment, I was able to gain knowledge in many aspects of the post field which really helped me understand the wider process and how to better communicate with other colleagues along the pipeline of a project.

Career Now

What is a typical day like?

Footsteps is about an hour’s drive each way from home which isn’t ideal but I enjoy being in the city and having that escape to the countryside for work. We work a typical 8-hour day, though I often work longer to tidy things or finish up emails and scheduling. While my main role is Foley mixer and editor, I also manage the scheduling at Footsteps. We work as a team so I find time throughout the day when I can step aside to answer client emails and update our work schedule. We have a small, tight-knit crew there that’s extremely collaborative and I enjoy working in a team like that.

How do you stay organized and focused?

I guess I am somewhat organised even if it doesn’t feel that way sometimes! I do enjoy finding new tools to help me keep track of everything but it can be difficult to find software geared toward our field that does exactly what we need it to do. I still keep an old-school handwritten planner because I find it faster to jot things down than to open an app on my phone. Finding what works for you is important and planners that I can put stickers in make organising things more fun too!

What do you enjoy the most about your job?

Being able to work on a variety of projects is a real pleasure. One week we’ll have a drama, the next, a horror, and then a comedy. All of those genres require a different set of aesthetic and creative mindsets and I love the variability and challenge of jumping between them. Sound editors typically work on a job for weeks or months at a time while our timeline is much shorter in Foley, so we have the opportunity to create sounds for many different projects throughout the year.

What do you like least?

Sometimes the budgets we have to work with can be challenging. We always focus on the high quality of our work and that can be tough to manage when we’re on a tight timeline.

What is your favorite day off activity?

On my off days, I enjoy focusing on my hobbies which include yoga, sewing/crocheting, and playing bass in my band.

What are your long-term goals?

I still have a lot to learn and I’m looking forward to being able to do that. I would like to spend some time in different roles in the post field to have an even better, well-rounded knowledge of the work my colleagues do. I know that no matter what, so long as my work is in audio, I will be happy so I’m looking forward to a long career playing with sound.

What, if any obstacles or barriers have you faced?

I feel very fortunate and acknowledge the privileges I’ve had in my career so far. I think a big thing for me has been having the ability to say ‘yes’ to pretty well every opportunity that has come my way. I am so grateful for the mentors I’ve had who have helped guide me and I hope to extend that to the next generation of folks coming into the industry.

Advice you have for women and young women who wish to enter the field?

Say yes to those opportunities. Even if you doubt your ability, say yes and figure out how you’re going to manage it after. Apply for those jobs where you don’t think you quite qualify because you never know, you could be the best candidate. Don’t sell yourself short and be sure to ask for what you deserve. My golden rule is always “don’t be a dick”, that goes for everyone. If you’ve got a personality that people want to be around, that’s worth more than how much you know about compressors or the frequency response of every microphone.

Must have skills?

Unfortunately, you have to know ProTools for post-audio work. Every studio uses it – though some editors work with other DAWs, so long as you’re able to output what your supervisor or client needs from you.

For Foley recording, a good knowledge of different microphones is useful as well as recording techniques including compression and EQ.

Favorite gear?

Hardware:
TLM103
My ’92 Lake Placid Blue PBass

Software:
FabFilter Pro Q3 – I put that on EVERYTHING
Whatever the most current Izotope RX Suite is at the time (de-click gets the most use in my work)

*Huge thanks to my parents for sending me to piano lessons and listening to my sometimes painful practicing; for not getting upset when I said I wanted to go to music school; and for generally being super awesome and supportive.*

 

Post, Theatre, Foley, and SoundGirls

Working as a one woman sound recordist and boom op in a short film

As this is my first SoundGirls blog post, I thought it would be a good idea to make it a bit of an introductory one. So hi! My name is Iida Aino Viljanen, and I’m originally from Finland hence the difficult name. I’m a sound designer (and a composer but work mostly in sound design), and I work in both audio post-production for film/video and in theatre. I don’t know if many sound designers like to combine these two areas of work (at least I’ve not met anyone else but hi to all of you who also do this!), but I think it’s an excellent way to keep things exciting. Don’t get me wrong, I love working with both, but it’s refreshing to being able to switch between the two as, even though the process is very similar, the work is also very, very different. Recently, however, I’ve been working more with post-production sound, so I’m hoping there will be some theatre projects ahead in the near future! I’ve also done a little bit of production sound recording/boom operating and that’s something I’m planning to do more in the future as I found it very interesting.

I wanted to become SoundGirls’ blogger as I think this is an amazing channel to find about other audio women’s work and support each other. I mostly work with men in my day-to-day life (however I’ve recently been working with more and more women directors yay! But most audio people I work with are still men, so it’s awesome and inspiring to read what other women are up to and what their experiences in this industry are. Weirdly enough I’ve been also really missing writing after graduating from university so writing this blog fills that gap nicely!

I used to work full-time as an Assistant Dubbing Mixer in broadcast in the UK but after recently relocating to Stockholm, Sweden, I’ve been working as a freelancer. I think both work situations have their pros and cons, but at the moment I am enjoying the possibility of working on very different projects which freelancing allows me to do. Although, it’s at times also very stressful as you need to find your own work and can get a bit lonely. I work mostly on my own devices, but luckily I also freelance at a local audio post-production studio a couple of days a week where I can meet other sound people and people in general. So I don’t become a complete hermit!

I’m still quite early in my career, learning something new almost every day, and I’d say working as an Assistant Dubbing Mixer in post-production house after graduating from university was a beneficial and educational experience that taught me a lot about the work itself but also about the industry we work in. So, to any students or new graduates, I’d recommend applying for runner or assistant level jobs and internships in post-production houses or even just asking if you could shadow someone. It makes a huge difference even in your confidence to see how more experienced persons do things. It’s great to learn from more experienced sound professionals and adapt their workflows to your own. Freelancing can be very lonely, leaving plenty of room for self-doubt, and it helps when you know what you’re doing. Even just seeing a senior-level Dubbing Mixer’s Pro Tools template can be very helpful for your own work. My university course at Glasgow School of Art was excellent (would highly recommend it!) and I learned a lot there but working as an assistant was an even bigger learning curve for me as the tv industry really can be hectic, and you must learn to work fast as well as know your Pro Tools.

I know I would find freelancing more complicated and I would doubt myself a great deal in my work had I not worked in post-production house after graduating. Though, I do realise getting these jobs or even an internship can be tough when there’s plenty of other students applying for the same positions. However, my hot tip is to email all the places you know and to research some more. I’ve noticed that runner and assistant level positions tend not to be advertised very often as annoying as that is, so sometimes they might have been thinking about hiring some help and then boom your email hits their inbox. Just remember to include a showreel or an example of your work to your email – even some university work is good or your final project if you don’t have a showreel yet. It’s much easier to get noticed when they already hear your work and skill level.

Recently I’ve been recording quite a lot of foley for short films, and I’ve enjoyed that! Foley is something I’ve only done a little bit previously, but after these films, I’d love to do it more often as it’s certainly fun. I’ve already noticed that I’m looking at items in grocery stores with Foley in my mind wondering what kind of sounds different things could make. One thing which is not fun though is footsteps and specifically cutting footsteps. After vocalising my frustration about this one of my friends told me about this fantastic invention called Edward Foley Instrument which is a Kontakt player compatible VST that allows you to create footsteps using a midi keyboard. To me, that sounds like a dream come true and according to my friend, it’s genuinely life-changing so this is going to be my next investment! At least a video of it looks great, check it out if you too want to cry while editing footsteps.

Oh and as I’ve found out during my foley experimenting if you ever need to record poop smearing sounds porridge works wonders!

Foley recording porridge aka cow poo

That’s about it for this time! As I previously mentioned I have recently relocated to Stockholm so if you’re a SoundGirl living in Stockholm, please get in touch via Twitter or you can find my email address on my website! I would love to meet other audio women here.

I thought it would be a fun idea to finish my posts with little recommendation lists of podcasts, videos, and articles about women in audio that I’ve found interesting. So here goes my first list of recommended content:

Tonebenders – Episode 099. Sound Design for VFX Round Table (Podcast)

(Can also be found on SoundCloud and Podcasts-app.)

Nia Hansen (Avengers films) and Paula Fairfield (Game of Thrones) discuss designing creature and superhero sounds, and honestly, this was one of the most interesting and inspiring discussions I’ve heard for a while.

Sisters of Sound – Episode 15. Sound Editor Claire Dobson (Podcast)

(Can also be found on Podcasts-app.)

To be honest this whole series is worth listening to as it’s all about women in audio – not just in audio post-production but also in music, sound art, engineering, etc. but I thought this episode was especially interesting as they interview sound editor Claire Dobson who’s worked for example on The Handmaid’s Tale, Vikings and Fargo.

LNA Does Audio Stuff (Youtube channel)

My dear friend LNA had enough of the male dominance of Youtube audio tutorials so she made her own channel. If you are wondering about which speakers to buy for your home studio, how to set up a home studio or how to get started with Ableton then check this channel out! LNA is also open for suggestions so if you have an audio question you’d like an answer for or if you want to know how something is done message her or comment on her videos and she’ll make a tutorial for it!

Find more Podcasts with Women in Audio here

If you want to follow me elsewhere here are the links to do so:

Iida Aino is a sound designer and composer based in Stockholm, Sweden. She’s originally from Finland but has spent most of her adult life living, studying and working in the UK and has only recently relocated to Stockholm. She graduated with a Master degree in Sound for the Moving Image from Glasgow School of Art in 2017. Even though she’s still early on in her career her work already includes short films, tv programmes, adverts, installations, and theatre shows. Currently, she works as a freelancer and won the Best Sound Design Award at the feminist Underwire Film Festival in London in 2018. Iida Aino enjoys all things audio (especially spatial audio is an area she’d like to experiment more with!) and loves the way women in this industry support each other. iidaainosound.wordpress.com

Read Iida’s Blog

 

FOLEY 101: A Crash Course

In my journey to learn more about different jobs in audio, I have decided to share what I learn within these blog posts. My first topic is one that I am most familiar with: foley. As a foley mixer and editor, I am often asked: what exactly is foley?

If you’ve watched a film lately, you’ve heard Foley. Foley is the reproduction of sound for any visual medium. Foley is in film, television, video games, VR and digital media. The art of foley is named after Jack Foley, an early sound effects artist. Jack was a pioneering developer of performing sound effects live and in synchronization with pictures. We need to re-record these sound effects because often what is recorded on set is unusable. Microphones on set are focused on capturing the actors’ dialog as cleanly as possible; therefore all other sounds become neglected.  Everything you hear in a film – from footsteps to handshakes, kisses to puking – is created specifically for and in sync with a picture.

Foley, as we know it today, consists of a team of usually 2-3 people in a studio performing, recording and editing everything you hear on screen. Okay, maybe not everything… we leave the explosions to the sound effects editors. Each member of the team plays a different role in creating and capturing the sounds for a project. And those members are:

The Foley Artist

These are the people who begin to bring characters to life, sonically. They are tasked with recreating the sounds for anything the actors interact with and anything on screen that would make sound. The foley artist manipulates props to create these sounds as well as performing footsteps for the characters on screen.

The Foley Mixer

While the whole team has a role to play in the sonic quality, the mixer works with the microphones, preamps, and other gear that may be used to capture the foley. We generally use two microphones (a ‘close’ mic and a ‘far’ or ‘room’ mic) for interior locations on screen and one close mic for exterior locations. The mixer is in control of the balance of these microphones and uses the two in combination to create perspectives or distance in the sounds.

The Foley Editor

This is a fairly fluid role and is often varied depending on the foley studio. The editor may be part of the team before or after the recording stage. Sometimes the editor and mixer roles are combined. In general, though, the job of the foley editor is to ensure that all of the recorded sounds are in sync and without any artifacts or distortion. The foley editor uses software such as Pro Tools to perform these edits. The editor may also play a part in the creativity of the sounds; manipulating what was recorded into something different. For instance, they may pitch down a set of footsteps to give a character more weight.

The Process


An assortment of foley artist’s shoes
Photo by Jeremy Benning

First, we begin with the footsteps. The artist chooses a pair of shoes to suit the character and we go through scene-by-scene capturing footsteps. On our second pass-through, we cover all of the props. These are items that the actors interact with that would make sound. This includes simple things like putting down a glass or shaking someone’s hand to more complex sounds like swords unsheathing or a person skateboarding. The final pass is the cloth pass. This is where the artist manipulates different types of material to capture the sounds of characters’ clothing movements. The cloth pass adds another layer of subtle depth to the soundtrack; giving the characters even more life.

Once all passes have been completed, and everything has been edited and synced, we prepare the session for delivery to the final mix stage. There, our tracks will be combined with the sound effects, dialog, and music to create the complete, finished soundtrack.

When Foley is done well, you generally don’t hear it. That’s because it fits in so seamlessly with what you are visually seeing that you shouldn’t notice it. If something stands out, it can take the viewer out of the experience. That is what we aim for every day – our work to not be heard. It sounds bleak, but it is actually very rewarding. We often are so absorbed in what we are creating that it becomes almost a challenge to get a reaction out of each other. When the artist performs a perfectly in sync, great-sounding footstep pass, we all cheer. When we build a really gross sound, the usual indicator of where we’ve reached peak grossness is based on those reactions too. If the artist looks back and sees my face contorted in disgust, we know we’ve just made magic.  Ultimately, the natural human elements that foley can bring to a soundtrack are irreplaceable.

 

DISEÑO SONORO – Foley

 

Los efectos de sonido en la filmación comenzaron cuando las películas dejaron de ser mudas para pasar a transmitir sonidos y voces. En 1927, Jack Foley desarrolló múltiples y diferentes técnicas de sonidos para cine, gracias a su colaboración en la película “ShowBoat”, en donde realizó los efectos de sonido sincrónico en tiempo real y así comenzó el efecto sala, mejor conocido como efecto Foley.

El sonido tiene la capacidad de hacernos sentir parte de una historia; algunas veces pasa desapercibido, pero si no estuviera ahí, la película no generaría el mismo sentimiento.

El foley puede comprender desde el sonido más sutil y cotidiano, hasta efectos sonoros creados para dar más sentido a algo en concreto, por ejemplo:  la ropa, puertas crujiendo, vidrios rotos y el mar, entre otros.

Al inicio, puede ser confuso comenzar a recrear los efectos sonoros. ¿Qué sonido es el mejor? ¿qué pasa si no me gusta el Foley que estoy creando?

Con esto en mente, hay que centrarse en tres áreas principales: pasos, movimiento y accesorios específicos. A continuación, se muestran distintos escenarios de lo que podría suceder, así como algunas recomendaciones de lo que puedes hacer al respecto:

Experimentar hace al maestro: Crea tus propios sonidos, prueba varios materiales, fábricas, suelos, etcétera. Esto te ayudará a tener una idea de un sonido y decidir qué es lo que requieres, en la medida que te funcione. Muchas veces, el producto final termina siendo algo que no esperabas, también te ayudará a crear un flujo de trabajo y en proyectos futuros podrás tener tus técnicas de grabación listas.

Prepárate para ensuciarte: Sí, ser un artista de Foley es un trabajo sucio, es recomendable utilizar ropa que no te moleste manchar, ya que estarás en el estudio durante varias horas y además te proporcionará comodidad para poder realizarlos. Trata también de usar ropa que haga poco ruido, para evitar que se filtre algún sonido externo.

Crea plantillas: El orden en las sesiones optimizará tu tiempo; crea plantillas en tu software de grabación (DAW) con tiempo. Independientemente de cuál utilices, el trabajo será más rápido y esto también les hará más sencilla su labor a los ingenieros de edición, de mezcla , etcétera.

Tener un diario se convertirá en tu mejor amigo: En él deberás registrar cada movimiento que estás haciendo, con su fecha y hora respectiva, desde lo más sencillo, como: “Tuve un error de grabación” o “No logré el paso adecuado”, hasta lo más complejo: “Hoy aprendí una técnica de grabación”. Puede ser tedioso, pero a largo plazo será de gran ayuda si llegaste a olvidar a crear un sonido, o también, cuando realices proyectos similares, tendrás una idea de cómo trabajarlos, gracias a tu journal.

Ir al cine: Ya sea para referencia o inspiración, esto te abrirá la mente, no sólo para ver efectos especiales, escuchar pasos en diferentes tipo de relieve y demás; también podrás ver cómo los géneros en el cine varían en Foley, en su manera de ser creados, grabados y mezclados.

Habrá cambios de último momento: Es la ley de la vida y más en la producción de películas. Ten en cuenta que puede haber proyectos que te pidan entregar al día siguiente (yo he tenido que entregar desde una hora o hasta media hora antes de la proyección), por lo que tendrás que trabajar bajo presión, pero no te preocupes, no siempre será así y aprenderás mucho.

Guarda todo: La regla de oro. Graba todo y si no estás segura de que lo hiciste, vuelve a guardar.

Colocación de micrófonos

Los micrófonos sensibles son excelentes para captar matices sutiles en efectos de sonido. Dentro del estudio de Foleys, puedes utilizar los siguientes modelos de transductores:

Trata de que la dirección del micrófono no esté muy cerca de la fuente que quieras captar; aléjalo unos cuantos centímetros para tener un poco del sonido del cuarto.

Estos son algunos objetos y técnicas sugeridas por artistas de Foley en Hollywood:

TÉCNICAS

OBJETOS

Cada película es distinta; además, cada producción y dirección provocan procesos diferentes, por lo que siempre aprenderás cosas nuevas. Así que al final, en todo momento sigue intentando nuevas ideas y guárdalas, nunca sabes cuándo las podrías usar.

By Tania Moreno and Carolina Anton

Tania Moreno – Nació en Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, el 2 de abril de 1996. Estudió la preparatoria en el Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey en Monterrey, México, y actualmente es estudiante de Ingeniería de audio en el Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey en Monterrey, México.

Ha estudiado una segunda carrera en Francés y también ha estudiado y realizado prácticas en Helsinki, Finlandia.

Es locutora y artista de Foleys para proyectos de animación y actualmente acaba de fundar su productora de audio Happy Dog Productions, especialista en la creación de diseño sonoro, scoring, mezcla y masterización.

Carolina C. Antón – Originaria de la Ciudad de Mexico, con más de 9 años de constante crecimiento, amante de la música, su primer acercamiento fue tocar la batería, inmediatamente inició de manera autodidacta e independiente, comenzando a realizar grabaciones en vivo, diseños y optimización de refuerzo sonoro y Head de audio para festivales internacionales a nivel internacional. Actualmente es ingeniero de mezcla para en vivo (FOH / MON). Ha mezclado para varios artistas, participando en giras mundiales.

Desde el 2016 comenzó su representación de Soundgirls.Org en la Ciudad de Mexico

Agradecimientos a la comunidad de Artistas de Foley: Peggy Vázquez, Estefanía Monroy (BHD estudios) y Alexa Castillo (BHD estudios) por aportaciones de consejos.

 

 

SOUND DESIGN – Foley

Using sound effects in film began with the passing of silent films. In 1927, Jack Foley developed multiple techniques of sounds for cinema, thanks to his collaboration in the film “ShowBoat,” where he made the effects of synchronous sound in real time and thus began the room effect, better known as the Foley effect.

Sound has the ability to make us feel part of a story; sometimes it goes unnoticed, but if it were not there, the film would not generate the same feeling.

Foley can be the most subtle and daily sound, to sound effects created to give more meaning to something in particular, for example, clothes, doors creaking, broken glass and the sea, among others.

In the beginning, it can be confusing to begin to recreate the sound effects. What sound is the best? What happens if I do not like the Foley I’m creating?

With this in mind, you have to focus on three main areas: steps, movement, and specific accessories. Below are different scenarios of what might happen, as well as some recommendations of what you can do about it:

The experiment makes the teacher: Create your own sounds, try various materials, factories, floors, and so on. This will help you to have an idea of a sound and decide what you need, as long as it works for you. Many times the final product ends up being something you did not expect, but it will also help you to create a workflow, and in future projects, you will be able to have your recording techniques ready

Get ready to get dirty: Yes, being a Foley artist is a dirty job, it is advisable to use clothes that do not bother you because you will be in the studio for several hours and it will also provide you comfort to perform. Also try to wear clothes that make little noise, to prevent any external sound from leaking out.

Create templates: The order in the sessions will optimize your time; Create templates in your recording software (DAW) with time. Regardless of which one you use, the work will be faster, and this will also make it easier for editors, mixers, etcetera.

Having a diary will become your best friend: In it you will have to record every movement you are making, with its respective date and time, from the simplest, such as: “I had a recording error” or “I did not achieve the adequate step “, even the most complex:” Today I learned a recording technique “. It can be tedious, but in the long term it will be very helpful if you forget to create a sound, or also, when you do similar projects, you will have an idea of how to work them, thanks to your journal.

Go to the cinema: Whether for reference or inspiration, this will open your mind, not only see special effects, listen to steps in different types of relief and others; You can also see how the genres in the cinema vary in Foley, in their way of being created, recorded and mixed.

There will be changes at the last moment: It is the law of life and more in the production of films. Keep in mind that there may be projects that you ask to deliver the next day (I had to deliver from one hour or up to half an hour before the screening), so you’ll have to work under pressure, but do not worry, it will not always be the case, and you will learn a lot.

Save everything: The golden rule. Record everything and if you are not sure that you did it, save it again.

Placement of microphones

Sensitive microphones are excellent for capturing subtle nuances in sound effects. Within the Foleys study, you can use the following models of transducers:

Try that the direction of the microphone is not very close to the source you want to capture; move it a few inches to have a bit of the sound of the room.

These are some objects and techniques suggested by Foley artists in Hollywood:

TECHNICAL

OBJECTS

Each movie is different; In addition, each production and direction cause different processes, so you will always learn new things. So in the end, at all times keep trying new ideas and save them, you never know when you could use them.

By Tania Moreno and Carolina Anton

Tania Moreno – was born in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, on April 2, 1996. She finished high school and is currently a student of Audio Engineering at the ¨Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey in Monterrey¨, Mexico. She has studied a second career in French and has also studied and completed internships in Helsinki, Finland.

She is an announcer and artist of Foleys for animation projects and has just founded her audio production company Happy Dog Productions, a specialist in the creation of sound design, scoring, mixing and mastering.

 

Carolina C. Antón – Originaria de la Ciudad de Mexico, con más de 9 años de constante crecimiento, amante de la música, su primer acercamiento fue tocar la batería, inmediatamente inició de manera autodidacta e independiente, comenzando a realizar grabaciones en vivo, diseños y optimización de refuerzo sonoro y Head de audio para festivales internacionales a nivel internacional. Actualmente es ingeniero de mezcla para en vivo (FOH / MON). Ha mezclado para varios artistas, participando en giras mundiales.

Desde el 2016 comenzó su representación de Soundgirls.Org en la Ciudad de Mexico

Acknowledgments to the community of Artists of Foley: Peggy Vázquez, Estefanía Monroy (BHD studies) and Alexa Castillo (BHD studies) for contributions of advice.

 

Radio Mics and Foley – UK SoundGirls Workshops with the ASD

On a warm day at the end of June, the UK chapter of SoundGirls had our first shared events with the Association of Sound Designers, in the form of two workshops about very different and equally fascinating sound skills.

First up “Pin the Radio Mic on the Actor,” given by sound engineer and expert “mic hider” Zoe Milton. A vital skill for anyone wanting to work in theatre sound, fitting radio mics is also important for film and TV location sound and in any situation where you want to conceal a body mic on a performer.

Zoe started by taking us through a brief history of the use of radio mics in the theatre. Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, bandwidth restrictions limited the number of RF channels which meant that even large West End shows had far fewer transmitter packs than cast members. Les Miserable shared sixteen packs between their cast, which resulted in upwards of 100 pack swaps per night!

Fortunately, advancements in radio mic technology and a reduction in the costs of RF licensing in the UK means this doesn’t happen as much these days. Of course, Sound No. 2 and No. 3’s are still expected to be able to swap mic packs within a matter of minutes if necessary, especially on large shows.

Next, we had a closer look at some of the various mic techniques used to accommodate different hair lengths – including no hair – and performance types. Zoe reminded us that that fitting a radio mic is as much about teamwork and communication as it is about technique. You work in very close proximity with the performer, and you have to make both the experience and the position of the mic and pack comfortable for them. You also have to make final decisions on the mic position that will provide the best and most consistent sound for your Sound No. 1 or sound operator. There can be a big difference in the sound of a mic fitted at someone’s hairline, and one fitted over an ear.

As well as the performer and the Sound No. 1/sound op, radio mic fitters also have to take potential costumes, hairstyles, wigs, and hats into consideration. Zoe emphasized the importance of speaking with costume and wig designers as early in the production process as possible so that you know where you might be able to hide a mic and mic pack. We looked in detail at positioning mics within hats and discussed solutions for performers with no hair (creating an ear “hanger” works well). Zoe also talked us through how to hide mics and mic packs under wigs. I was particularly impressed with one solution that Zoe and a colleague devised for an opera singer who shed his clothing after his entrance, which meant it wasn’t possible to put his mic pack in his costume. Instead, they had a half-wig created to blend in with his natural hair and give them enough volume to hide his mic pack on his head, within his hairstyle.

After giving us a rundown of the best accessories to use, including the benefits of using wig clips over the tape and how to effectively colour a mic cable, we had the chance to get up close and personal with fitting a mic ourselves.

I came away from the workshop with a much clearer idea of the solutions available when fitting radio mics, as well as feeling slightly guilty about how much I rely on tape (more wig clips, I promise, Zoe!).

In the afternoon, Tom Espiner introduced us to the fascinating world of Foley sound creation. Tom is an actor, puppeteer, theatre practitioner, and Foley artist, who has provided Foley for film and TV as well as live opera and theatre.

With the technical assistance of Gareth Fry, Tom demonstrated the process of recording Foley, using various objects and textures to build up multiple layers of created sound effects. It was fascinating to see Tom take everyday objects such as twine and rubber bands and turn them into snakes sliding across rocks and flicking their tongues.

After we’d seen the expert do it, it was time for us to have a go. We had a lot of fun adding horse hooves (a classic) and saddle noises to a scene from The Revenant and learning what might have gone into making the sound of a dinosaur hatching from Jurassic Park.

Later on in the workshop, we looked at adding live Foley to stage plays, and I learned how difficult it is to keep one hand making the sound of a babbling brook while the other creates splashes in sync with another actor, as they mime washing their hands. In one of the most enjoyable exercises of the day, all of us contributed to creating a Foley soundscape to illustrate a particularly descriptive piece of text, creating the sounds of a deep underground lake in a mysterious land.

As well as being very informative, both workshops reminded me how important it is to get out from behind your computer or console, try something new and get your hands wet literally, as it happens. I think all attendees left inspired to try new techniques and find new ways to make sound.

Many thanks to the Association of Sound Designers for offering the opportunity to our members.

 

Post-Production Audio: Promo Mixing

One area of the post-production industry that goes under the radar when looking for jobs or career paths is advertising and promos. A promo is a form of advertising used in media/broadcast to promote a program or event. You’ve probably seen these a million times and never thought much of it. “Coming up next on the Simpsons!” or “Tuesday night right after the Voice!”

 

Mixing a promo is not terribly complicated. There’s usually voice-over, dialog, sound fx and music. The content is short – generally, you are given a “spot” which is 30 seconds (but could be other lengths). Then, there can be “cutdowns” of that spot – shorter spots that are usually derivative of the longest one. For a 30 second spot, the cutdowns might be 20, :15, and :10. Here’s an example of a 30-second spot and a basic cutdown version:

 

Once you mix the:30 it’s often a matter of conforming your mix/tweaking or applying settings from the original mix to the cutdown versions.

The main thing that makes promo mixing difficult is organization and file management. For one spot, you might have 3 cutdowns (4 mixes in total) plus “versions.” Versioning is taking your mix and changing the tag – the VO at the end of the spot that identifies the show, time, date, network, etc (“The Americans. All-New Next Tuesday. Only on FX”). Your average tv show that has a promo for next week’s new episode might have the following tags: Next Wednesday, Wednesday, Tomorrow, Tonight, Next. If they’re running a spot early there might be tags like “This summer,” “coming in May,” “premieres May 5.” Sometimes it gets specific like “Next Wednesday at 8” or “Wednesday at 9/8 Central.” There might be promotion across networks or platforms, too. For example, a mix I do for the cable network FXX might also air on FX, Fox, On Demand, and online streaming (FXNow). Some promos are also on the radio or play at movie theaters.
This basic Protools session shows tags for a :30 spot and 3 cutdowns (:20, :15, and :10). The three versions for each spot are “Starts Today at 3,” “Starts Next” and “Continues.” Sometimes it’s easier to do the mix and tags in separate sessions.

If you have a bigger session – say 10 tags for a spot and 3 cutdown versions – that means 40 total you have to edit voice-over (and mix), output and name files, double-check the file names match the mix and spot check the mixes. You may be asked for similar named versions like “premieres next” and “premiering next” so naming files correctly is very important. This is just one promo and you might be doing multiple in a day! This is why people who are detail-oriented do really well in promo.

Voice over script with many tags

As a promo mixer, you get to wear a lot of hats. You might be recording voice-over, editing dialog, sound design, recording Foley or walla (background voices), and music editing. Generally, you don’t get to wear so many hats working on movies or tv shows and definitely not on the same day.

There’s a nuance to promo mixing because there’s a lot of things happening at once that are all competing for your attention. Your job is to point the listener to what’s most important. There can be a lot of mood changes in a short period of time and a good promo mix can navigate these without calling attention to volume rides or overlapping audio. When an explosion happens in a promo you’re usually onto the next idea when the audio is barely starting to decay.

Promo mixing can be a great gig if you’re trying to pursue another interest, too. Mixers are usually booked by the day and there are opportunities to mix from home. It’s not as hard to break into as film mixing, for example. However, it’s not the type of gig you necessarily want to learn on the job because deadlines can be tight. Often a mix is booked the same day a spot needs to air so there’s not a lot of room for error. If you are good with details, organization, are a fast editor and mixer, enjoy wearing a lot of hats, and not looking for your name in the credits, promo mixing might be a good fit for you!

How to Create the Sound of Murder Without Actually Killing Anyone

KirstyGillmore-Feb2015-pic1I love working as a sound designer in fringe theatre. It’s underfunded, often underpaid and over-looked, and it can also reveal unexpected and rewarding creative challenges. (more…)

X